Which line to the Caribbean with a 2 year old?

[roxannex]

Hiya!

My husband and took a Royal Caribbean cruise this summer and had lots of fun (except for the food, which was BAD). The cruise was great, but I missed my kiddo the whole time. So I would really like to take another cruise, this time with our son.

 

He will be 3 next November and we're thinking either May or August--so he will be 2 1/2- 2 3/4 when we go.

 

I know that our options for kids clubs and 2 year olds are limited to Carnival, Norwegian (which won't change diapers) and Cunard (which has really limited trips to the Caribbean). My husband and I cruised with Carnival about 6 years ago and didn't like it very much, but our AAA travel agent said that Carnival has changed a lot, and I keep hearing that the food on Carnival is actually better than Royal Caribbean.

 

The AAA agent really recommended against Norwegian, and I don't know if this is legitimate or just because AAA doesn't offer Norwegian cruises. Anyone know?

 

If my son was 3, I would choose Celebrity, because I've heard the food is great (Yeah...we're foodies!) and the line SEEMS to be a little bit more luxurious. I like a bit of pampering. :) We're not rah rah activity all the time people.

 

So, any suggestions? Is there anything I haven't thought of? I know there's Disney, but the kids program doesn't start until age 3 and I keep hearing the nursery fills up very quickly. Plus, Disney seems so much more expensive...I wonder if it's worth it.

 

I could do Celebrity and just get babysitting, but I don't know how reliable that is. The option of the Carnival kids program seems great---but not at the expense of being unhappy with the cruise in general.

 

Thanks!

Roxanne

[Keith1010]

My concern is that you said you didn't care for the food on RCL. I normally would have recommended them in the first place. If you are concerned about the food on RCL I can't see how you will like the food on Carnival. If RCL isn't in your thinking then I would have said go with Celebrity with a babysitter.

 

Keith

[Kerry's Girls]

I enjoyed my Carnival cruise (which I also took because my girls were not yet 3), but the food was not an enjoyable part for me. The kids program was wonderful, but we've switched back to Princess now that they're turning 3. If the food makes a big difference to you, I suggest you wait until your child is 3.

 

I don't remember if there are specialty restaurants on Carnival, but if there are, maybe you could eat there each night - that might be a solution. Since I eat with my twins, I never checked into whether there are nicer dining options.

 

Best,

Mia

[#1TravelMom]

Are you definately looking for a line with babysitting. We went last June. Our little girl was 2 3/4. We were on the Caribbean Princess. We had a fabulous time. Althought they do not have babysitting. We took turns taking her to the Kids club activities - games, crafts, singing, dancing. She had a blast! They also have a great kids pool with lounge chairs. We spent lots of time there relaxing just a few feet from the pool. She'd make little friends everyday and we'd just kick back and watch them play. I know this isn't the same as babysitting, but we had a great time and she had tons of fun.

[chrisv348]

I, too, would have recommended RCCL. We took our daughter on three cruises from the ages of 7 to 9 and it was RCCL that offered the most for kids. The Jewel of the Seas had a fabulous kid zone. It was large and equipped with plenty of computers and video games. I realize that your looking for a program for a younger child though. If you can afford it, I would opt for a sitter for a few days.

 

We have since sailed with NCL twice. Although they have great programs for kids, they have a fairly strict sign in/sign out policy and odd hours of operation. They close for two hours during meal times. This proved to be a big problem. Sign child in at 9:00, sign back out at 11:00, sign back in a 1:00, pick up at 5:00, return again at 7:00. You get the picture. We spent half of our cruise running back and forth to the kids club retreiving our child. RCCL took the kids to lunch as a group if you requested upon sign-in. This was a couple years ago and their policies may have changed somewhat.

[2112]

I prefer RCCL over Carnival, but we are going on Carnival with our 2 year old in May because they will allow our little guy in Camp Carnival and no one else's child program will work for us. We have cruised with Carnival 3 times and RCCL 2 times, and although I prefer RCCL I think Carnival's food is a little better (at least in the main dining room). I think the service is about the same. To me the big difference in the lines is that RCCL's ships are much nicer and they keep their pools and hot tubs open later. Given what I'm reading from you, Carnival may be the best line for you for your next cruise (due to Camp Carnival), but like me you will probably move to another line once your little one turns 3. One other thing, I have heard that RCCL and Celebrity babysitting is evening only - no babysitting during the day or on port days.

[roxannex]

Thanks for the responses. :) We did like the food in the specialty restaurants very much on our Royal Caribbean cruise (Mariner of the Seas) but food on the buffets and in the dining room was kinda icky. Some things were nothing special but fine and some things were downright odd (like orange hummus that tasted and looked nothing like hummus and cake that wasn't even sweet). But the specialty restaurants were very good.

 

I think it took me aback because when I was young I went on several cruises with my mother and remembered the food being really good. I don't know if that's because quality has declined or because I was 9 and don't remember well. My mother never cruised Carnival. I believe we did several Holland American cruises and some other line I can't remember. :)

 

I think it probably will be Carnival for us then unless we want to wait until he turns 3 or want to take my mother and grandmother with us...which is not always so fun! LOL. (Family drama!!!!) I know my kiddo would love those awesome Caribbean beaches with that clear water! Carnival is certainly a good deal pricewise, so that's a plus.

 

Thanks!

[crusinmama06]

Just do a NEW Carnival ship. No I don't think the ships are as nice as the new RCCL ships (yeah I know it's my opinion and I am sticking to it :p )

 

But the food we had on Carnival WAS better than on RCCL. And camp carnival was wonderful with my youngest. She was 2 on her first Carnival cruise and 3 on her second. She loved Camp Carnival more than RCCL AO.

 

I didn't start her on RCCL until she was 3 and 100% potty trained. So we have done other lines and she had a great time.

[Kerry's Girls]

 

I think it took me aback because when I was young I went on several cruises with my mother and remembered the food being really good. I don't know if that's because quality has declined or because I was 9 and don't remember well. My mother never cruised Carnival. I believe we did several Holland American cruises and some other line I can't remember. :)

 

 

Thanks!

 

I had the same experience as a child, but wayyyyy back then there were pretty much three meals plus the midnight buffet and that was IT as far as eating on a ship - you dressed and showed up to eat in the dining room or you went hungry until midnight. Now the ships have to offer food 24 hours and in multiple venues, so I think the overall quality of the dining experience has become more muddled.

 

Going with Carnival was a great solution for me while the girls were pre-3, but I'm glad to be going back to my more old-fashioned Princess cruises.

 

Best,

Mia

[crusinmama06]

I had the same experience as a child' date=' but wayyyyy back then there were pretty much three meals plus the midnight buffet and that was IT as far as eating on a ship - you dressed and showed up to eat in the dining room or you went hungry until midnight. Now the ships have to offer food 24 hours and in multiple venues, so I think the overall quality of the dining experience has become more muddled.

 

Going with Carnival was a great solution for me while the girls were pre-3, but I'm glad to be going back to my more old-fashioned Princess cruises.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

Oh there is no doubt that the quality of cruise food has greatly diminished, even over the past 10 years. I distinctly remember how good the food was back when we first started cruising. It's all gone downhill from there.

[larronry]

Babysitting on RCCL and Celebrity is not always dependable because if no one signs up to babysit then you don't get a babysitter. I did like all the attention that we got in the buffet area (my son is 2) but on my cruise (the Millennium) the food was pretty bad. We had great food on the Century in 2004. I am also not sure if Celebrity has any Caribbean cruises during the months you are looking at.

 

I will be posting a review of my Celebrity cruise from the point of view of the mom of a two year old hear (I had to get my internet connection back up and running first) I've already posted a more adult perspective on the Celebrity board. But I wouldn't recommend it because so much of it depends on the luck of the draw when it comes to your room steward and waiter and although our room steward was nice we lost on both. Our son didn't count even though we paid nearly $500 for him. He wasn't even worth a piece of chocolate on his pillow at night. The buffet was the most boring I've ever experienced and by the end of the cruise I stopped eating lunch.

 

I know that people like NCL but when My DH and I went with a group of about 50 none of us like the food and everyone ordered the plain chicken, baked potato, and ice cream for desert at dinner.

 

As you can see from my signature we've chosen Carnival for our next cruise with our son even though he'll be 3 by then. After that I'm not sure what we'll do. Caribbean Princess is moving to San Juan and will be replaced by the Ruby Princess and we may give her a try. We loved the the crew on the Caribbean Princess and although I thought the food was a bit salty most people loved it.

[mousecrazy]

I like NCL - we're going on the Star in April with our 1 1/2 yr old, as well as two other kids, ages 7 and 10. This will be out second time on the Star (Alaska, 2005). My kids loved the Kids Crew. We didn't mind the limited hours and I liked the strict check-in/check-out (gave me peace of mind). The food was good (but any food I don't cook is good!) to excellent. There are so many choices with 12 (I think) restaurants (on the Star) and Freestyle with kids just makes ship life easy and carefree.

 

After reading the NCL board for a time, I've noticed the service/food/kids program varies from ship to ship. You might consider going over to that board and posting your question.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[roxannex]

Thanks for all the replies! :) You're giving me lots to think about.

[larronry]

After reading the NCL board for a time, I've noticed the service/food/kids program varies from ship to ship. You might consider going over to that board and posting your question.

 

I think that is true with just about any cruise line. After going on my cruise someone posted that the Millennium was the least dependable of the M class ships with Celebrity when it comes to service and food. That said it's the only Celebrity ship doing 7 day Caribbean Cruises. Don't know if I would want to pay that kind of money for the luck of the draw.

 

That said I guess I can understand that about NCL as well, but I just don't think we could ever try that one again even though we did enjoy the no formal nights. We like formal nights too though and will get those pics scanned and posted.

[As You Wish]

I returned last month from my 2 year old DD's first cruise on Carnival, and she had a wonderful time. She loved the camp, and the staff was great with her. I would also recommend a newer ship and booking at least one or two nights in the specialty restaurant for a great dining experience while your DS has a blast eating with the other kids at camp.

[twins2go]

We just got back from an extended family Christmas cruise on RCCL Sovereign of the Seas with our 2-year-old twins. I chose and arranged this cruise for our group of 17, largely because of the babysitting. Which was fantastic! We had Aurora, a pool attendant from India, all four nights and she was wonderful with the girls. She even borrowed some toys from the kids' program and brought them to our room for the girls to play with the last 2 nights. The charge was $12 per hour, we paid her $15. Worth every penny. We ate at the late seating, which at 8:30 is past the girls' bedtime anyway. Aurora showed up each night at 7:30, giving DH and I time for a quiet stroll and a pre-dinner drink. She made the cruise for us by giving us 4 precious hours of adult time every night.

 

I know that Carnival and NCL would have let my 2-year-olds into the kids' club, but I was scared of that option for the evenings. They go to bed by 8:00 every night and I really couldn't imagine leaving them in a group setting during that time of night. By the time we got them back, I am guessing they would be too wired to sleep and the night would be a disaster. So, for us, we were much more comfortable leaving them with an in-cabin babysitter.

 

We are foodies too and I must say, the RCCL food was a disappointment to us, even though we had pretty low expectations to start with. One of the best things I ate the whole time was a turkey sandwich I ordered from room service! A lot of the items at dinner would have been at least OK, had they not been terribly overcooked. This was my first cruise in a long time, so I don't have much of an opinion on how it compares to other lines, but several of my family members were on a Carnival cruise this summer and said the food on Carnival was much better.

 

That said, great food was not the reason we booked the cruise, we were just looking for a nice family reunion that would be affordable for the most people. I think if you have gotten spoiled on really fine restaurant dining, hardly any cruise ship would be able to measure up just by virtue of the sheer number of dinners they are trying to serve.

 

I am looking forward to trying NCL and their specialty restaurants. We didn't have that option on the Sovereign. The girls will be turning 3 when we go to Alaska, so hopefully I will feel a little more comfortable with the idea of leaving them in the kids' program by then. If not, though, my MIL is joining us and is a very eager and capable babysitter. :)

[calikak]

We read a lot of very very good things about Cunard's kids program and booked with them for November of next year...then our sailing was cancelled (the ship is going into dry dock). So, we're still deciding what vacation to take next year, but we'll definitely do a Cunard cruise while our son is still young. They have British government-certified nannies that staff the kids' program, and it's open to kids age 1 and up, and they do change diapers. And it's open at night, so you can actually enjoy a late seating dinner with your spouse. Lots of dressing up on Cunard compared to other cruise lines, though, so it may not be for everyone.

[larronry]

I returned last month from my 2 year old DD's first cruise on Carnival, and she had a wonderful time. She loved the camp, and the staff was great with her. I would also recommend a newer ship and booking at least one or two nights in the specialty restaurant for a great dining experience while your DS has a blast eating with the other kids at camp.

 

Well you can't get much newer then the ship I chose. :D (It's first cruise is in July) I guess if we end up liking the food, and I don't remember not liking food on the Fantasy, then we might stick with Carnival for a while. I think they have more new ships coming out. We prefer sailing out of FLL then Miami because it is easier for us to get rides there. So we'll have to see what is sailing out of there.

 

We read a lot of very very good things about Cunard's kids program and booked with them for November of next year...then our sailing was cancelled (the ship is going into dry dock). So, we're still deciding what vacation to take next year, but we'll definitely do a Cunard cruise while our son is still young. They have British government-certified nannies that staff the kids' program, and it's open to kids age 1 and up, and they do change diapers. And it's open at night, so you can actually enjoy a late seating dinner with your spouse. Lots of dressing up on Cunard compared to other cruise lines, though, so it may not be for everyone.

My one question about Cunard is the food. I believe I've heard that they have English style food which would concern me.

[calikak]

My one question about Cunard is the food. I believe I've heard that they have English style food which would concern me.

 

I think they have the same kinds of foods as other cruise lines. When I asked on the Cunard forum, people said their favorite dishes were thinks like the duck or the rack of lamb or a fish dish, just like on other cruise lines. There is a pub onboard that offers traditional English pub fare (bangers and mash etc.) but they don't offer that in the main dining room.

 

I found the food on our Carnival cruise to be a step above Princess. I was pleasantly surprised, actually.